BlackKnight_UK wrote:Do amateurs every talk about anything other than what radio they are using, what antenna, how much power, what the signal strength is, etc. etc.?

That's all I ever hear - even on repeaters where you'd think it didn't matter.

On CB we used to just chat about anything and everything - I rarely hear people chat about anything other than amateur radio on amateur radio?

Does part of the course involve you being brainwashed into a boring radio user?

The biggest number of users on repeaters seem to talk just for the sake of talking, not because they have anything to say. Using a repeater you are not having a two way QSO, other than with a repeater & so signal reports etc don't count. Although with a fully quieting signal into the repeater you can tell someone what their audio is like.But having said the above I have heard some not so ex CB'ers with intermediate licences passing someone around between them, to see who could work him/hear him as he was a DX station!!!!!! And those not very ex CB'ers were part of the local clubs training group As a whole most people away from 20 meters do have QSO's. I have discussed all sorts on the bands. Once talking about radio signals I mentioned a comment by Crispian StJohn AKA Howard Rose & Jay Jackson. The listener does not care about your carpets, they only care about your content. "I'm from Northampton was the reply & I knew Howard well. The next hour plus were spent in a growing net talking about free radio. Operating from a RAF cold war radar base I have spoken to former RAF & Russian Air Force personnel, who knew of the base. Away from there I have also spoken to people operating mobile as they drive across the Sahara. And to a German operator who was interested in WW2 history..His father knew my area, but never stopped, just passed through.. I have also had long chats with current & ex Scouts when operating stations for various Scout events & not just with other SES's either. The same type of thing has happened when operating from windmills, railway stations, lighthouses etc etc. People want to talk. But some times I have also just swapped signal report & callsigns when the signal was too weak & unreadable to do little else, or when we both lacked a language in common. Personally speaking, I stopped using VHF FM as too many of the users were talking for hours, but had nothing to say. I do not personally mind the my radio & my antenna is. Type comments..As that is far preferable to 5 & 9. 00123, 73, QRZ. We all run very different stations, some are wholly or partly home made, some use ex military or commercial equipment & it can & often & normally does lead onto other topics. During one 80 meter QSO from the RAF radar base SES, I asked where he was & it finished the QSO, but in a most interesting way..."I'm about 10,000 feet from Luton." Which explained the strange callsign. He was not a legal amateur radio station, but an ex RAF, now a commercial pilot heading in or out of Luton. I told him to look us up, send us an SAE & we would send him a card to prove he had spoken to us, sorry heard us.

I once had a long chat with a current USAF guy who was interested in USAF history & who was on active service, south of Europe, as I activated a former WW2 airfield used by the "Mighty 8th." I have also been told about the experiments being carried out on the ISS during a QSO with them & had a long QSO about the Titanic with someone from Lancashire. They have the Titanic museum there. The reality is, unless you have something wrth talking about, why not a have a polite, but sane QSO about banal subjects & move on. As Truman Capote said.

A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That's why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity. Two intelligent talkers seldom meet.

BlackKnight_UK wrote:Do amateurs every talk about anything other than what radio they are using, what antenna, how much power, what the signal strength is, etc. etc.?

That's all I ever hear - even on repeaters where you'd think it didn't matter.

On CB we used to just chat about anything and everything - I rarely hear people chat about anything other than amateur radio on amateur radio?

Does part of the course involve you being brainwashed into a boring radio user?

It sounds like you will be happier sticking to CB. You may find when listening to all the swearing that there is an intelligent CB'er. Rumour is that he is the one who can get his baseball cap on the correct way round. Only a rumour so no guarantee given. Clearly you dislike radio amateurs.

I don't dislike radio amateurs I have and have had several friends who were on CB and amateur - what I dislike is people who ram the "get an amateur license" down the throats of anyone who mentions CB.

BlackKnight_UK wrote:I don't dislike radio amateurs I have and have had several friends who were on CB and amateur - what I dislike is people who ram the "get an amateur license" down the throats of anyone who mentions CB.

I was not trying to ram the amateur license down your throat. I was trying to suggest that you would enjoy the amateur bands and get away from all (well most) of the swearing. If you do not want an amateur license then fine, it is your choice, stick with CB but moaning about the swearing will not serve any purpose.

I did think of taking my Foundation exam, I bought the book and read it cover to cover. Seems pretty simple, but we spend a lot of time in France and hope to be moving there shortly. My licence will be worth nothing then. As for 10 watts, back in the early days of illegal CB, I used my 4 watts am and 12 watts SSB to talk to people all over the world when conditions were right.Haven't turned my CB on for about 6 weeks now........It was me that was complaining about the bad language.. It doesn't really bother me, I have been in the forces where some people can only speak sentences consisting of 80% swearing, not that that is a problem if they are going to be saving your bacon on the next tour.But, other people who are in the same room, grandchildren, parents, friends etc aren't really keen on hearing that language.I also have a feeling that one of the people I heard is an amateur, so keeping away from CB doesn't necessarily mean the language will get better.

The choice is down to what interests you. CB, I think is the best medium to use if you just like talking to people about anything whatsoever. Ham Radio, because of the need to know at least basic technical things means that people are generally more interested in how thing work, rather than actually using them. So they get hung up about power - distance - radio types - operating standards etc etc. Business radio users just need to communicate. People who use Morse Code know that it's slow, and perhaps old fashioned and that there are better systems of communication now, but to them - Morse is the 'fun' element.

Doesn't matter really - radio can be enjoyed by a very wide range of ages, skills, social class and intelligence - and that is good.